Thursday, June 30, 2011

Byter Albert has taken me to task for incorrectly attributing to Abraham Lincoln yesterday’s quote that commenced “You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.”He is absolutely right, me bad as the kids say.I usually check quotes against a number of sources for reliability, as on this occasion, but the sources I consulted all came up as Abraham Lincoln.Albert has referred me to snopes.com, the authority on urban myths, emails, disputed quotes etc and I quote from that site,

In 1916 Rev William John Henry Boetcker, a Presbyterian minister an d noted public speaker, produced a booklet of maxims from his lectures.Through various crystallisations it evolved into the do’s and don’ts quoted yesterday.

In 1942 a pamphlet was published that contained Rev Boetcker’s maxims on one side and quotations by Lincoln on the other.In some accounts the Rev Boetcker’s name was omitted. Whatever the reason, in the public mind the maxims were the work of Abraham Lincoln and have mostly been so quoted ever since.

In 1992 US Pres Ronald Reagan quoted four of the maxims in a speech and attributed them to his predecessor Pres Lincoln.

Banksy is the pseudonym of a noted English graffiti artist, political activist, film director and painter. Banksy’s street art images, often done by stencil, are satirical, dark and frequently challenging. '

This is the 1951 version, the original and the best, avoid the 2008 remake with Keanu Reeves.TDTESS is not just a good movie yarn, it was also the first sci-fi blockbuster, the first to show flying saucers on screen and contains a mass of state of the art visual effects pre CGI.Bear in mind that this was the height of the cold war, the race to have the most atomic bombs was on, McCarthy & Co were about to start asking whether people were now, or had ever been, practising communists and atheist commies were perceived to be the threat to God, King and Country.What better message than for alien daddy to tell his Earth children to play nice and be nice, or else.Gort! Klaatru barada nikto!

Synopsis:

See above.

Quote:

(closing speech)

Klaatu:I am leaving soon, and you will forgive me if I speak bluntly. The universe grows smaller every day, and the threat of aggression by any group, anywhere, can no longer be tolerated. There must be security for all, or no one is secure. Now, this does not mean giving up any freedom, except the freedom to act irresponsibly. Your ancestors knew this when they made laws to govern themselves and hired policemen to enforce them. We, of the other planets, have long accepted this principle. We have an organization for the mutual protection of all planets and for the complete elimination of aggression. The test of any such higher authority is, of course, the police force that supports it. For our policemen, we created a race of robots. Their function is to patrol the planets in spaceships like this one and preserve the peace. In matters of aggression, we have given them absolute power over us. This power cannot be revoked. At the first sign of violence, they act automatically against the aggressor. The penalty for provoking their action is too terrible to risk. The result is, we live in peace, without arms or armies, secure in the knowledge that we are free from aggression and war. Free to pursue more... profitable enterprises. Now, we do not pretend to have achieved perfection, but we do have a system, and it works. I came here to give you these facts. It is no concern of ours how you run your own planet, but if you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder. Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer. The decision rests with you.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."

For a movie that is more than 50 years old, it remains remarkably fresh and topical.It also provides an interesting look at the founding of the nation of Israel in 1948, both as to the wish of the Jews for a homeland and the Arab NIMBY viewpoint.

Synopsis:

Paul Newman as Ari Ben Canaan leads a group of Jewish immigrants to Israel from Cyprus, against a backdrop of the founding of Israel and the hostility of Arab nationals.

Quotes:

Ari Ben Canaan (words spoken at the burial of a young Jewish girl and Ari’s Arabic friend, killed for being sympathetic to the Jews)

This is Taha Mukhtar of Abu Yesha. And this is Karen, Secretary of the Rooms Committee, Secretary of the Rooms Committee, Bungalow 12, Gan Dafna.We have no kadito pray for Taha's soul.And we have no rabbi to pray over Karen.

Taha should have lived a long life surrounded by his people and his sons.And death should have come to him as an old friend offering the gift of sleep.It came, instead, as a maniac.And Karen, who loved her life and who lived it as purely as a flame, why did God forget her?Why did she have to stumble onto death so young?And all alone?And in the dark?

We of all people should no longer be surprised when death reaches out to us.With the world's insanity and our own slaughtered millions, we should be used to senseless killing.But I am not used to it.I cannot and will not get used to it.I look at these two people, and I want to howl like a dog.I want to shout "murder" so that the whole world will hear it and never forget it.

It's right that these two people should lie side by side in this grave because they will share it in peace.But the dead always share the earth in peace. And that's not enough.It's time for the living to have a turn.

A few miles from here, people are fighting and dying and we must join them. But I swear on the bodies of these two people that the day will come when Arab and Jew will share in a peaceful life this land that they have always shared in death.

Taha, old friend and very dear brother.Karen, child of light,daughter of Israel.Shalom.

When the filmmakers bought the ship that they used as the refugee ship, the company they bought it from was so thrilled that they delivered it with a fresh coat of paint. Unfortunately, this was unsuitable, since the ship was meant to look old, so fake rust had to be painted on at great expense.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

"I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains."

- Anne Frank

Anneliese Marie "Anne" Frank (1929-1945) and her family were Jewish, living in Holland when that country was occupied by Germany at the beginning of WW2. As persecutions of the Jewish population increased in July 1942, the family went into hiding in the hidden rooms of Anne's father, Otto Frank’s, office building. After two years, the group was betrayed and transported to concentration camps. Anne Frank and her sister, Margot, were eventually transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they both died of typhus in March 1945.After the end of the war, Otto Frank returned to the rooms where they had hidden and found Anne’s diary.

Despite its right wing message glorifying police brutality, misogyny, racism and political incorrectness, this remains a rollicking good yarn.Besides, how can a film series that has contributed so many memorable lines to the English language be all bad?

Synopsis:

Harry is dubbed Dirty Harry because he is given “every dirty job that comes along”.He is on the trail of a serial killer named Scorpio and in a race against time when Scorpio kidnaps and ransoms a young teenage girl.

Quote:

Harry Callahan:I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

When Universal let go of the script, Warner Bros. purchased it with a view to cast Frank Sinatra. Sinatra was interested, however he had broken his wrist during the filming of The Manchurian Candidate eight years previously, and during contract negotiations, he found the large handgun too unwieldy. Additionally, his father had recently passed away, and Sinatra decided he wanted to do some lighter material. After Sinatra dropped out, Warner Bros. considered Marlon Brando for the role, but never officially approached him. Next, they offered it to Steve McQueen and then Paul Newman, both of whom turned it down. Newman however suggested Clint Eastwood as a possible star.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

"Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.”

-Scott Adams (1957 - )

Scott Adams is the author of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several works of satire, commentary, business, and general speculation.

I do not often include personal items on this blog unless they are in the nature of reminiscence, information or humour.Yesterday I provided an amusing anecdote about my father in law, Noel.Today I would like to share with you something personal to me, the story of two amazing women, my mother Antoinette and my mother in law, Margaret.

My mother is aged 88 and she is near the end of her time.My brother Hans, who lives in Sydney, myself and our families do what we can but daily she becomes weaker and closer to the end.She is now receiving pain relief and appears to be comfortable, most of her time being spent in sleep.

She is an amazing woman.Born in Holland in 1923, 5 years after World War 1 finished, she experienced the Great Depression as a child with her family, recalls the Hindenburg flying over their backyard and has often described the chill she felt at the sound of jackboots on cobblestones as Holland became occupied in WW2.She carries the scars of Nazi shrapnel on her leg and heard the sound of VI and V2 rockets overhead.

Only 5’ 2”, or 157.5 cm, she raised 3 strapping sons and looked after a husband, my father, who was killed in a car accident in 1979.

My mother and my father were born and raised in a time when emotion was seldom shown.Our household did not have hugs, compliments, praise or displays of affection.Everyone knew that there was love present but no one ever mentioned it.When I was at university, I found out only from others that my father was proud of my achievements, he never told me but he did tell others.

The story is a loose modern adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey.The film contains a wealth of humour, American folk music and some serious acting talent.If you’re not that fond of George Clooney, watch it for the music.If you’re not into the music, watch it for George Clooney, John Goodman et al.If you’re not into George or the music, watch it anyway for a good story well told.

Synopsis:

It is 1937 in Mississippi.Three members of a chain gang, led by Ullyses Evertt McGill, escape to retrieve the $1.2m that Gill claims to have hidden from an armoured car heist.Because the valley in which the money is hidden it is to be flooded, they have only four days to retrieve it.

Quote:

Blind Seer:You seek a great fortune, you three who are now in chains. You will find a fortune, though it will not be the one you seek. But first... first you must travel a long and difficult road, a road fraught with peril. Mm-hmm. You shall see thangs, wonderful to tell. You shall see a... a cow... on the roof of a cotton house, ha. And, oh, so many startlements. I cannot tell you how long this road shall be, but fear not the obstacles in your path, for fate has vouchsafed your reward. Though the road may wind, yea, your hearts grow weary, still shall ye follow them, even unto your salvation.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

I have previously spoken of my father in law, Noel.Let me relate a story about Noel which may have a cautionary lesson for all of us.

My mother in law, Margaret, has recently been in hospital with quite a severe spinal injury after taking a spill.She is home now and doing a lot better.

When Margaret was in hospital, Noel was making daily trips to and fro, trying as best as he could to look after Margaret’s hospital needs, home, business matters and also their cat, Pushkin.

One evening when the day’s activities and tasks had been completed and Noel was finally able to make himself some dinner, the house telephone rang.Notwithstanding that he had things on the stove and concerned that it might be the hospital, having been promised a call from Margaret’s specialist, he made his way to the phone and answered.An Indian voice started a sales pitch, the call being from a call centre operator trying to get him to change his phone plan.

Noel is a polite man in his mid 80's who grew up in an age when swear words were only found in the pub and in banned D H Lawrence books.

He politely declined and terminated the call.

Twice more this happened, each time when he was back at the stove.

When the telephone rang the fourth time and he answered, an Indian voice introduced himself.

By this time, Noel had had enough.He said “Look, FUCK OFF!” and hung up.

He found out the next day that Margaret’s specialist, a man of Indian background, had rung the house to speak with Margaret’s husband and that a male voice had told him to “Fuck off”.

Noel was too embarrassed to ring the specialist and too frightened of Margaret to tell her what had happened.

Yesterday I posted a Movie Moment about Marathon Man, a film in which Sir Laurence Olivier portrayed evil former SS officer Christian Szell.That character was based on the real life Dr Josef Mengele, a German SS officer and doctor at Auschwitz who performed experiments on humans.Two years later in The Boys from Brazil, Gregory Peck played Dr Josef Mengele and Sir Laurence Olivier portrayed aging Nazi-hunter Ezra Lieberman, a character based on the real life Simon Wiesenthal. It was a film ahead of its time in its predictions about cloning.

Synopsis:

An aging Nazi-hunter discovers a plot to clone Hitler’s genes and to recreate the events in Hitler’s life so as to restore the Third Reich.

Quote:

Ezra Lieberman: [his conclusion after knowing things about the cloning process and who is going to be cloned] Not Mozart. Not Picasso. Not a genius who would enrich the world. But... Adolf Hitler.

Some years ago I read an article in The Good Weekend magazine, the one that comes with the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturdays, about Billy Connolly.The article contained a paragraph about Billy’s younger days, a childhood that included much unhappiness and severe abuse by his father.Nonetheless he managed to stay positive and to retain a sense of humour, possibly a survival mechanism.In the article he mentioned an incident and the positive spin that it has given him, something that resonated with me. I have since spoken of it to various people and have also quoted it to clients.The philosophy behind it is not unique – many others have said that no matter how bad things get, it is better than being dead, or that there is always someone worse off – but no one manages to express it so memorably as Billy Connolly.

Before quoting that item, I might mention that I am also reminded of a cartoon I had for many years but has been lost with the passage of time.It showed a man with his arm in a sling, bruises on his face and some bandaids.He is speaking to a woman standing in front of him.The words at the base of the cartoon, spoken by the man, are “I have an alternative psychiatrist.He slaps you around and tells you to pull yourself together.”

The Good Weekend extract is printed below, thanks to Liz Cooper-Smith of that magazine who tracked down the item at my request and organised permission to reprint it:

Billy Connolly likes to date his enduring optimism to his days in the shipyards of Glasgow, where he worked as a welder from the ages of 16 to 24.

One day, he says, he went to buy a packet of cigarettes from Tam, the chain-smoking old worker who ran the company store:

"He started to cough. It was like a storm building up - a thundering storm from miles away. He ended up with these noises that sounded like a platoon of cavalry galloping through a swamp in wellingtons full of vomit. Then it came to an end; all calmed down. I says, 'Jesus, Tam, that's some cough. He says, 'F... off!' He says, 'Did you pass the graveyard on the way in here?' I says, 'Aye.' He says, 'Well, the graveyard's full of people that would f...ing love my cough.'

And that's basically my philosophy: if you think you're having a bad time, the graveyard's full of people who would love to be doing what you're doing."

I have a dentist appointment next week, having broken a tooth on a Tic Tac.Yes, I know that you are supposed to suck them, not crunch them, but I tend to get impatient with food that lasts a long time.Tic Tacs, like Minties that rip out fillings, probably generate a lot of dentists’ fees.I mention this because I have sometimes said to dentists, as they are about to start with their probe, “Yes, it’s safe”, or in a German accent “Is it safe?”None have ever known what I was talking about.It comes from this movie (see the clip below).Sir Laurence Olivier portrays an ex-Nazi, a former dentist, who tortures Dustin Hoffman to find out whether it is safe for him to collect illicit diamonds.What a superb idea for a torturer, a dentist working on teeth.Even thinking of it makes me shudder.

Synopsis:

SS dentist Christian Szell, "the White Angel" of Auschwitz, seeks to smuggle priceless diamonds from the United States.Other people want the diamonds as well.

Quote:

Janeway: In 1945, Szell let it be known around Auschwitz he could provide escape for anybody who could pay the price. He started out with gold naturally, but very quickly worked his way up to diamonds.

Babe: Why did you say "naturally" when you said he started with gold?

Janeway: Szell knocked it out of the Jews' teeth before he burned them. Szell was a dentist.

Producer Robert Evans was set upon getting Laurence Olivier to play the part of Szell. However, because Olivier at the time was riddled with cancer, he was uninsurable so Paramount refused to use him. In desperation, Evans called his friends Merle Oberon and David Niven to arrange a meeting with the House of Lords (the upper body of the UK's parliament). There, he urged them to put pressure on Lloyds of London to insure Britain's greatest living actor. The ploy succeeded and a frail Olivier started working on the film. In the end, not only did he net an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, but his cancer also went into remission. Olivier lived on for another 13 years.

Not many of today’s youngsters watching MASH on TV reruns will be aware that it was originally a movie, or that the them has lyrics.The film is set in Korea but was intended as an anti-war film about Vietnam.Director Robert Altman removed any references to Korea, wanting audiences to mistake the setting as Vietnam, but nervous studio suits made him not only restore them but also add an opening title that identifies the place as Korea.Still a great film with many classic moments, too numerous to mention.

Synopsis:

Doctors and nurses at a front line Mobile Army Surgical Hospital try to sane amidst the brutality and horror of war.

Quote:

Painless:[lining up during football game] All right, Bub, your fuckin' head is coming right off.
[the first use of the word "fuck" in a major motion picture and in a studio movie]

Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals remained in US Army service until 2006 when the last one was donated to Pakistan.

When studio execs first saw the dailies, they complained to Robert Altman that the soldiers looked dirty compared to the soldiers in Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) and Patton (1970), the much bigger budget war movies being made by 20th Century Fox. Altman, a veteran of WWII, replied that soldiers in war are dirty. The next day the execs told the producers of those two films to make their soldiers look dirtier.

The 14-year-old son of Robert Altman, Mike Altman, wrote the lyrics to the theme song "Suicide is Painless". Because of its inclusion in the subsequent TV series, he continued to get residuals throughout its run and syndication. His father was paid $75,000 for directing but his son eventually made about $2,000,000 in song royalties.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

"Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn't have it in the beginning."

Taken from Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1897 book, this 1937 pic won Spencer Tracy a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the Portuguese fisherman Manuel.Filmed long before CGI and blue screens, the special effects remain amazing and the action sequences memorable and exciting.Well worth getting.

Synopsis:

Coming of age flick: spoiled rich kid Harvey Cheyne falls overboard from a liner in the Grand Banks area off Newfoundland.Picked up by a fishing boat, he soon learns that being spoiled and arrogant has no place on a working fishing schooner captained by Captain Disko.

Quotes:

Harvey:I bet I know a lot of things you don't know. I know that's not French you're singing.

Manuel Fidello:That's right. About ten million people know it's Portuguese.

Because John Travolta has his own jumbo and a pilot’s licence to fly it (he is a goodwill ambassador for Qantas), and because of his starring in Saturday Night Fever, Grease etc, he is often called Captain Disco.

Monday, June 20, 2011

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you.
All you can do is be someone who can be loved.
The rest is up to them.
I’ve learned that no matter how much I care,
some people just don’t care back.
And it’s not the end of the world.
I’ve learned that it takes years to build up trust,
and only seconds to destroy it.
I’ve learned that it’s not what you have in your life,
but who you have in your life that counts.
I’ve learned that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes.
After that, you’d better know something.

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t compare yourself to the best others can do,
but to the best you can do.
I’ve learned that it’s not what happens to people,
It’s what they do about it.
I’ve learned that no matter how thin you slice it,
there are always two sides.
I’ve learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words.
It may be the last time you see them.
I’ve learned that you can keep going
long after you think you can’t.

I’ve learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done
When it needs to be done
regardless of the consequences.
I’ve learned that there are people who love you dearly,
but just don’t know how to show it.
I’ve learned that sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry,
but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.
I’ve learned that true friendship continues to grow even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.
I’ve learned that just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to
doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have.

I’ve learned that no matter how good a friend is,
they’re going to hurt you every once in a while
and you must forgive them for that.
I’ve learned that it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I’ve learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken,
the world doesn’t stop for your grief.
I’ve learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are,
but we are responsible for who we become.
I’ve learned that just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean that they don’t love each other.
And just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do.

I’ve learned that sometimes you have to put the individual
ahead of their actions.
I’ve learned that two people can look at the exact same thing
and see something totally different.
I’ve learned that no matter the consequences,
those who are honest with themselves get farther in life.
I’ve learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours
by people who don’t even know you.
I’ve learned that even when you think you have no more to give,
when a friend cries out to you,
you will find the strength to help.

I’ve learned that writing, as well as talking,
can ease emotional pains.
I’ve learned that the people you care most about in life
are taken from you too soon.
I’ve learned that it’s hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice
and not hurting people’s feelings and standing up for what you believe.
I’ve learned to love and be loved.
I’ve learned…

Anyone who has been watching the superbly filmed Downton Abbey at one million pounds per episode will have seen Dame Maggie Smith’s portrayal of the Dowager Countess of Grantham, Violet Crawley.She has played roles as diverse as Minerva McGonogall in Harry Potter, Reverend Mother in Sister Act, Miss Jean Brodie in The Prime of and Desdemona in Othello.In the pic mentioned not long ago, Murder By Death, she was young and a stunner.My House in Umbria is one of my wife’s faves and is an enjoyable Maggie Smith vehicle, even if it is a made for TV flick. The part could have been written for her, it is the type of role she plays so well. She also received an Emmy for Best TV miniseries/movie for her portrayal.

Synopsis.

Emily Delahunty, an eccentric British author living in Umbria, Italy, takes an assortment of 3 people into her house after they survive a terrorist attack on a train in which they are all passengers.

Quote:

Emily Delahunty: “Sometimes I feel as if we are all in a story that’s being made up as each day passes.”

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Manly rugby league legend and former commentator Rex Mossop died today, aged 83.Mossop, who played rugby league and rugby union for Australia, suffered from Alzheimer's disease.He was admitted to Royal North Shore Hospital this year and his condition is understood to have deteriorated in the past week.

Mossop played rugby union for the Manly club and played Tests for the Wallabies between 1948 and 1951.He switched codes in 1951, joining English club Leigh before returning to Australia.Mossop played for Manly-Warringah from 1956 as the cornerstone of their forward pack before retiring in 1963 at the age of 35.He was rugby league's premier television commentator on Channels Seven and Ten from the 1970s until 1990.

Rex “Moose” Mossop, aka The Moose That Roared, Rex Messup and Tyrannosaurus Rex (ie a dinosaur), played football hard and uncompromising.He lived life the same way.Decried by feminists, vilified by gays and opposed by civil libertarians, Mossop had no time for political correctness and typified the Frank Sinatra song “I Did It My Way.”He was also known for his mangling of the English language, regularly winning sports commentator tautology awards.

Some memorable moments:

The famous appearance on Steve Vizard’s Tonight Live, when he was seated next to Julian Clary: